Nursing bottle cap



Oct. 10, 1950 c. B. LAGE NURSING BOTTLE CAP Filed Sept. 6, 1947 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 10, 1950 NURSING no'r'rLn CAP Claire B. Lage, Piqua, Ohio, assignor to Daka Paper Company, Erie, Pa., a, corporation of Pennsylvania Application September (5, 1947, Serial No. 772,514

1 Claim.

This invention is intended to insure sterile nursing bottle nipples by sterilization after filling, through individual caps enclosing the n.ip ples. In a preferred form the caps are steam pervious paper fabricated with a steam proof adhesive. The caps remain in place until the bottle is used, removing any danger of contamination. Further objects and advantages appear in the specification and claim.

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a capped nursing bottle; Fig. 2 is a view showing the cap being placed over the nipple; and Fig. 3 is a View showing the cap fastened by twisting around the nipple so the deformation of the cap supplies the gripping force.

In accordance with the invention, a nursing bottle I is filled to the desired level, for example, with a formula, orange juice, or other feeding, and a nipple 2 placed on the bottle. Proper sterile precautions are, of course, taken with the bottle, nipple, and formula, but there remains some possible air borne and contact contamination which is eliminated by a steam pervious cap 3 placed over the nipple and having its mouth depending around and terminating at the neck of the bottle and fastened in place by a rubber band 4 as shown in Fig. 1 or merely by twisting the mouth of the cap around the neck of the bottle as shown in Fig. 3. The cap may be made of steam pervious paper in the form of a bag with seams 5 formed by a steam proof adhesive. No special sterile precautions are necessary for the cap. Identifying marks such as the name and formula may be penciled on the cap.

The capped bottle is then placed in a sterilizer and the steam permeates the cap and sterilizes both the cap and nipple. If the sterilizer uses high pressure steam, this sterilization takes 7 place before the contents of the bottle are objectionably heated. A sterilizer using steam at atmospheric pressure produces the same result in a longer time. In either, the sterilization is 6.1.- fected by the steam permeating the cap and the contents of the bottle are not damaged by overheating.

Upon removal from the sterilizer, the capped bottle may be stored in a refrigerator. The cap should not be removed until the bottle reaches the point of use.

Although. only one type of nursing bottle is illustrated, the cap will fit any standard nursing bottle.

What I claim is:

A nursing bottle, a formula or the like in the bottle, a nipple mounted on the bottle after filling with the formula and in position for use, a cap extending over and having its mouth depending around the nipple and fastened around the bottle so the nipple is enclosed in a chamber bounded by the inner surface of the cap, said cap being of paper freely pervious to steam such that when the bottle with the formula therein and the cap and nipple thereon is placed in a steam atmosphere the outer surfaces of the nipple and bottle enclosed by the cap which may have become contaminated in handling are sterilized by the steam which permeates the cap without overheating the formula in the bottle and being adapted while in place to form a barrier to air borne or other external bacteria or contamination, and said bottle with the formula therein and the nipple and cap thereon being subjected to a steam atmosphere to sterilize the outer surfaces of the nipple which may have become contaminated in handling and filling by the steam which permeates the cap, whereby the surfaces of the nipple and bottle enclosed by the cap are sterilized and thereafter maintained in a sterilized condition and protected by the cap from further contamination duringstorage and handling of the bottle up until removal of the cap at the point of use.

CLAIRE B. LAGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS lished May 25, 1943. v 

